REVIEW: Hey Grandude!

Hey Grandude!  by Paul McCartney (yes he of Beatle fame) is a rollicking magical adventure story.

How the years fly. It only seems like yesterday that the Beatles took the world by storm. Paul McCartney is 77 years old now. His hair is greying, and he admits that he has written so many songs it is impossible to remember them all. By all accounts, he is a doting grandfather to his eight grandchildren. Through them, he discovered his passion for children’s books. He loved reading to them at bedtime so thought it would be nice to write one of his own.

Hey Grandude! is not autobiographical. The grandfather in this story lives in a very normal house in a very normal street. But when his chillers (grandchildren) come to stay he uses his magical compass to take them on some extraordinary adventures that sometimes get a bit out of hand (but it always works out in the end.)

Their first journey is to a tropical island where they skim across shimmering blue waves on the backs of flying fish, build sandcastles and lie beneath a coconut tree eating ice cream. Happiness reigns until a horde of crabs come straight out of the sea towards them. Time to go somewhere less pinchy!

Next they go racing around on horses in a desert valley but after narrowly escaping from a herd of stampeding wild buffalo Grandpa magically whisks them off to an alpine valley to roll in sweet-smelling wildflowers. Yet again they must make a speedy escape when an avalanche rumbles towards them. They hitch a ride on flying cows.

That’s enough adventures for one day. The chillers are ready for home and for bed and are soon fast asleep. And Grandpa, having kept them happily occupied all day and brought them home safely can have a well-deserved snooze in his chair.

Hey Grandude! with its colourful comicky illustrations by Kathryn Durst is a great bedtime story to read to your grandchildren. And when they are asleep in bed you deserve to revisit your teenage years, put on some Beatle music and sing along!

Hey Grandude! by Paul McCartney and illustrated by Kathryn Durst is a Puffin HB Imprint. RRP $30.

Reviews by Lyn Potter

Parent and grandparent, Avid traveller, writer & passionate home cook

Read more by Lyn here.